SENIOR leaders of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, responsible for planning a number of terror attacks, have been killed by special forces, US Command revealed.

US forces have killed senior leaders of al-Qaeda and the Taliban during covert raids

Omar Khetab, number two in the al-Qaeda network for the Indian subcontinent was killed on Monday.

Commander of the Taliban’s Red Unit Mullah Shah Wali, also known as Haji Nasir, and several of his militants were also killed in the US’ terror raids in Afghanistan.

The US command said: “Both leaders are responsible for the deaths of many innocent Afghans, and their removal will both disrupt the terrorist operations of their respective organisations and improve the overall security of the country.

“Omar Khetab, number two in the al-Qaeda network for the Indian subcontinent.

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he US operation was assisted by Afghan intelligence services and forces.

“He was directly involved in fighting against the Afghan government and foreign troops and had a role in advising in the use of heavy weapons such as rockets, mortars and training for Taliban night attacks,

"Mullah Shah Wali, aka Haji Nasir, commander of the Red Unit in Helmand, was killed on December 1 by a strike, with one of his deputies and three of his men".

"Wali and his 'Red Unit' are responsible for planning numerous suicide bombings, IED attacks, and coordinated assaults against civilians, Afghan and coalition forces."

The US operation was assisted by Afghan intelligence services and forces.

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General John Nicholson, the commander of US forces and Operation Resolute Support NATO, said: “This operation is a testament to the real growth the Afghan forces have achieved over the past year.”

The US-Afghan operation comes as around 3,000 additional American troops have been deployed to help train and assist beleaguered Afghan security forces who have been struggling to beat back Taliban and Islamic State insurgents.

A US Colonel has also warned that there are 26,000 terrorists currently being watched over possible plots to launch attacks on the West.

Speaking at the US Embassy in London for the Global Coalition Again Daesh (ISIS), Colonel Ryan Dillon said: “There is a database of 26,000 terrorist fighters which are there to identity and action if they are identified trying to move outside of Iraq and Syria or throughout the world.”

Their removal will both disrupt the terrorist operations of their respective organisations and improve the overall security of the country

US Command

The US Colonel said that the international security force Interpol was in charge of the global fight against terrorists and warned that ISIS was dying but could still cause alarm in the UK.

Colonel Dillon said: “They are no longer a military threat.

“They no longer have an army that we saw present itself in 2014.”

However, he added: "It does not mark the end the end of Daesh”.

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The US-Afghan operation comes as around 3,000 additional American troops have been deployed

“We are looking at the enemy and seeing how he adapts and we will provide our partners the support that they need to deliver the lasting defeat to Daesh in Iraq and Syria.”

Analysts have warned an “Islamic State 2” or “al-Qaeda 3.0” may be launched as the fanatical cult regroups and regenerates.

ISIS strongholds have been recaptured from the terror group in Syria and Iraq, but there are still unresolved issues in the region, such as sectarian conflict, economic hardship, and religious rivalries.

Head of the Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group, Ayham Kamel, told CNBC: “The Islamic State is almost defeated, but a radical Islamist insurgency will remain in both Iraq and Syria as the fighters turn to traditional terrorism.”

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“However, losing the pillars of its state, ISIS no longer represents a strategic threat to the integrity of either Iraq or Syria. There’s even a possibility of alliances with al-Qaeda in Syria as these configurations are always fluid.”

Director of the Joint International Counter-Terrorism Unit, Jane Marriott, added: “Defeating the physical caliphate so it’s no longer on a map has to be a good thing, it’s the right thing to do.

“But you then have to get the follow-up right and if we, the international community, don’t get the politics right, the reconstruction, the economic element and the governing solutions in the right place then it will lead to Daesh 2.0 or al-Qaeda 3.0.

“So it’s about ensuring that the things that governments do are the right things and that ultimately they don’t make the situation worse in the long run.”